New Nontrad

[Latecomer13]

Hey everyone, I've been on these forums for quite some time, and it's really awesome how everyone can help each other out to such a great extent. I'm kind of lost on a couple of issues so any help would be appreciated.

I'm a senior at Pitt currently majoring in Political Science, but lately I've been considering medicine as a future for me. The only problem is, I have no idea how to get started and my freshmen year in sciences was horrible (i had alot of crap going on then and didn't focus on studies at all).

My grades from UG sciences are below:

Chem 1: C
Chem 2: C
Physics 1: C
Physics 2: C-
Bio: B-
Bio Lab: D+ (><)

After that first year and switching majors as advised, I've been able to rise my GPA to a 3.2 due to more focused academic years. I'm confident I can do well in the sciences now, and I'm actually thinking of taking Chem 1 again next semester to prove to myself I can do it.

My question is regarding the long run. I know med schools will see these grades. Even if I do well in post-bacc and on the MCATs, will these grades hinder my chances of getting into any med school? I'm just wondering if the load of work I'm about to take on will be futile or not, and if it's too late to make the switch.

Thanks in advance for any input, advice.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[drizzt3117]

Hey everyone, I've been on these forums for quite some time, and it's really awesome how everyone can help each other out to such a great extent. I'm kind of lost on a couple of issues so any help would be appreciated.

I'm a senior at Pitt currently majoring in Political Science, but lately I've been considering medicine as a future for me. The only problem is, I have no idea how to get started and my freshmen year in sciences was horrible (i had alot of crap going on then and didn't focus on studies at all).

My grades from UG sciences are below:

Chem 1: C
Chem 2: C
Physics 1: C
Physics 2: C-
Bio: B-
Bio Lab: D+ (><)

After that first year and switching majors as advised, I've been able to rise my GPA to a 3.2 due to more focused academic years. I'm confident I can do well in the sciences now, and I'm actually thinking of taking Chem 1 again next semester to prove to myself I can do it.

My question is regarding the long run. I know med schools will see these grades. Even if I do well in post-bacc and on the MCATs, will these grades hinder my chances of getting into any med school? I'm just wondering if the load of work I'm about to take on will be futile or not, and if it's too late to make the switch.

Thanks in advance for any input, advice.

It's my understanding that if you retake these courses in postbac, DO schools will take the highest grade, but I'm not entirely sure if that applies to the same course being retaken at a different institution. Certainly for DO, if you can retake them postbac and they replace it, you will be OK. For MD, if you do 1-2 years of postbac and score around 3.8, you should be able to raise your GPA to about 3.4, at which point with a good MCAT you should be competitive despite your past performance.

 

[Kateb4]

I agree. Your best bet is to retake these classes for a better grade. DO will replace the grade with the most recent, even if it was taken at a different school (just make sure that the classes are equivalents). Even if you went MD, you should retake because there are many schools that will only accept C or better in the pre-reqs, and it just dosn't look good to have all C's in these important classes. Not to mention, if you didn't do so well in those classes, you may not have learned the material well enough for the MCAT, so retaking would be great to solidify your knowledge.

 

[gman33]

I would retake the science classes, both to learn the material and raise your GPA. Add another year or so of upper level classes to further build your app. If you can do better than 3.5 in those classes and get a good MCAT you should have a shot at a variety of schools.

As stated DO is more favorable in how they evaluate retakes.

 

[2008orbust]

Also, many schools look at TRENDS (and thank God they do) So keep it top notch for another year or two to not only improve that GPA, but to show that you have changed your ways. Good luck!

 

[thoffen]

I would retake the science classes, both to learn the material and raise your GPA. Add another year or so of upper level classes to further build your app. If you can do better than 3.5 in those classes and get a good MCAT you should have a shot at a variety of schools.

As stated DO is more favorable in how they evaluate retakes.

Good advice here. I think a blend of retaking some classes (which has the added bonus of helping you for the MCAT) and taking some upper division sciences is appropriate. That would really show adcoms that you're capable and focused.

If you're shooting for DO, it sounds like retaking only might be a good enough solution since they'll only take the highest grade.

 

[Latecomer13]

Thanks for the advice guys. Since I still have one more semester in my undergrad, will it be worth taking these classes even if retakes do not raise my gpa?

Or should I wait until post bacc year starts?

 

[thoffen]

Thanks for the advice guys. Since I still have one more semester in my undergrad, will it be worth taking these classes even if retakes do not raise my gpa?

Or should I wait until post bacc year starts?

What do you mean by not raising your GPA? The way your school calculates GPA is totally irrelevant. AMCAS and AACOMAS will recalculate your GPA, and a good grade in this classes will certainly raise your GPA!

If you're going to do a post-bacc anyway, it matters not when you take them as long as they're on you're transcripts when you apply. Personally, I would plan your schedule to be most benificial for the MCAT.